Questions On EU Mali Mission

ByLaurence Norman

European foreign ministers are making much of having accelerated their training mission for Mail troops. But it’s not clear what exactly the initiative will accomplish, given that Mali’s army is already getting the most useful training it can, intense fighting alongside French troops against Islamist militants.

The foreign-policy chiefs of the European Union met Thursday in a special session to approve a contingent of several hundred troops to train Mali’s armed forces. Afterward, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said his colleagues offered unanimous praise for his country’s week-old intervention to push back Islamist militants tied to al-Qaeda who had surged south from their strongholds in the north.

EU foreign-policy chief Catherine Ashton said the EU was now mobilizing for action. “Military action was necessary. Logistical support has come from member states and … 27 member states are working together to bring comprehensive support,” she said.

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Certainly, some answers are finally emerging on the non-French EU response to the Mali crisis. But key questions remain unanswered – not least, what exactly the trainers will do and how it will work.

First, the answered questions. The mission should be formally launched mid-February once final operations plans are agreed.

The EU picked Brigadier General François Lecointre, 50 years old, to head the mission. He has served throughout Africa with French forces in Gabon, Ivory Coast, Somalia, Rwanda and the Central African Republic.

The mission has a 15-month mandate and will cost €12.3 million. Mission headquarters will be in Mali’s capital Bamako and the Mali troops will be trained in what the EU calls a “dedicated location” northeast of the capital. The mission is noncombat.

Mr. Fabius said around 500 troops would go. EU officials had said previously that includes around 200 troops to do the actual training. The rest would be a beefed-up protection force.

The EU has also offered financial support for the African-led international force due to start flowing into Mali in coming days. That is expected to cost somewhere in the region of €60 million, although details are not finalized. Stepped-up development aid has also been promised, but it’s linked to progress on a transition to democracy that is yet to emerge.

On Thursday, there were fresh bilateral offers of help to France. Germany is offering two aircraft, while Spain said it may send a plane and confirmed 50 Spaniards would be part of the training mission. Italy, Ireland and Hungary are among others contemplating extra assistance. Belgium, the U.K., Denmark and the Netherlands have already committed support.

Mr. Fabius said Thursday it is “completely possible” that some of France’s European allies may also send combat troops, but there’s been no evidence of that yet. Germany was one of a number of countries to rule that out – at least for the time being.

However the most fundamental uncertainty is what exactly the trainers would do. Most Malian troops are on the front getting the most effective training they can – fighting alongside French troops with the rebels.

“The issue of training is no more, because they’re now in combat,” said Nigerian Maj. Gen. Shehu Abdulkadir, the top military leader of the African-led international mission for Mali. “The most important thing to do now is to get on the ground and get things done with — fast, fast.”

Mr. Fabius said he had asked General Lecointre to use his upcoming visit to Mali to draw up mission objectives “that take into effect that in reality, lots of Malians are already fighting.”

There are ideas floating around in Brussels about how the training could work. One is that the mission could focus initially on recruits. Another is that Mali’s soldiers will need training in how to handle and deal with prisoners. Counter-terrorism skills will be needed over time. Some have spoken of some kind of rotation system where some Malian troops leave the front lines for a short period to learn specific skills before a new group replaces them.

It’s also still not entirely clear when EU troops actually start training – early March is the best guess. But one EU diplomat has suggested that until the situation in southern Mali is stabilized, it will be difficult to get the mission up and running.

Nonetheless, one senior EU official was unperturbed by the questions and doubts. He said the initial plans never stand up to the first heat of battle. The training mission will adapt its work and objectives to needs on the ground and will be there long after the first phases of intense engagement have faded.

“In the excitement of the early phases of these type of conflicts, there is often language bandied about – macho phases” about a military solution to all the problems, he said. “But this is not going to be a 24-hour process. What we need to do is get the trainers out there fast. They can start with a basic concept which can then evolve and change over time.”

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